Biography

FINS FACT In an effort to give back to the youth of the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, Anthony started the “Anthony Fasano Foundation” in 2008. The Foundation, which raises money to support underprivileged children in Northern N.J., hosts an annual golf tournament and food giveaway in Montville, N.J. In appreciation for the support of his foundation, the REED Academy in New Jersey recently named its new playground in Anthony’s name.

FINS FACTIn an effort to give back to the youth of the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, Anthony started the “Anthony Fasano Foundation” in 2008. The Foundation, which raises money to support underprivileged children in Northern N.J., hosts an annual golf tournament and food giveaway in Montville, N.J. In appreciation for the support of his foundation, the REED Academy in New Jersey recently named its new playground in Anthony’s name.

CAREER TRANSACTIONSAcquired by the Dolphins from Dallas, along with LB Akin Ayodele, on April 26, 2008 in exchange for a 2008 fourth-round draft choice (100th overall) . . . Originally was a second-round draft choice (53rd overall) of the Cowboys in 2006.

PRO2010 - Started 15 games and was inactive for one contest . . . Finished with 39 catches for 528 yards and ranked second on the team with four touchdown receptions . . . His reception, reception yardage, and touchdown figures all represent single-season career bests . . . Led the Dolphins in receptions and receiving yards twice during the season . . . Had three catches for 46 yards at Buffalo (9/12) . . . Caught two passes for 14 yards and a touchdown, coming on a three-yard scoring pass from Chad Henne, vs. N.Y. Jets (9/26) . . . Grabbed five catches for 67 yards vs. New England (10/4) . . . Had one catch, a 22-yard touchdown grab from Henne, at Green Bay (10/17) . . . The catch came with 5:20 left in regulation to give the Dolphins a 20-13 lead in a game they would go on to win 23-20 in overtime . . . Recorded three catches for 49 yards vs. Pittsburgh (10/24) . . . Had three catches for 36 yards at Cincinnati (10/31) . . . Tied for team lead with five catches and led team with 107 receiving yards and a touchdown vs. Tennessee (11/14) . . . The touchdown came on a nine-yard scoring pass from Tyler Thigpen . . . His 107 receiving yards was the highest single-game reception yardage total of his career at the time and also was his first career 100-yard receiving game . . . Fasano had two 31-yard receptions in the game, which at the time were the two longest catches of his career . . . Had four catches for 41 yards and a touchdown, coming on an 11-yard scoring pass from Henne, vs. Cleveland (12/5) . . . Tied for the team lead in receptions and led the team in reception yardage with two catches for 33 yards at New York Jets (12/12) . . . Was inactive for season finale at New England (1/2/11) with a knee injury . . .

AMONG DOLPHINS TIGHT ENDS: When Fasano posted 107 receiving yards vs. Tennessee (11/14) it was the first time a Dolphins tight end had 100-plus receiving yards in a game since Oct. 19, 2003, when Randy McMichael had 102 yards on eight catches vs. New England . . . It marked the ninth time in team history that a Dolphins tight end had 100-or-more receiving yards in a game . . . Overall, Fasano’s 107 yards against the Titans is the third-highest regular season single-game yardage total and the fourth-highest overall (including playoffs) by a Dolphins tight end in team history . . .

FIRST THREE SEASONS WITH DOLPHINS: In his three seasons with the Dolphins, Fasano has totaled 104 catches for 1,321 yards and 13 touchdowns . . . His totals rank among the top of all-time Dolphins tight ends in thier first three seasons with the team . . . Overall, Fasano’s 104 receptions are ranked third, his 1,321 yards is fourth and his 13 touchdowns are second among tight ends in their first three seasons with the team.

2009 - Started 14 games . . . Finished with 31 catches for 339 yards and two touchdowns . . . Led the team in receptions twice and in reception yardage once during season . . . Had team-high four catches for 38 yards and one touchdown vs. N.Y. Jets (10/12) . . . His long catch in the contest, a 21-yard reception, came on a Ronnie Brown pass from the Wildcat formation . . . Was inactive for games vs. Tampa Bay (11/15) and at Carolina (11/19) due to a hip injury . . . Led the Dolphins in receptions and reception yardage with five catches for 74 yards at Buffalo (11/29) . . . Had five catches for 67 yards vs. New England (12/6) . . . Had four catches for 36 yards and a touchdown, coming on a two-yard TD reception from Chad Henne at Tennessee (12/20) . . . The TD catch came on a 4th-and-one on the Tennessee two-yard line with 1:34 left in the 4th quarter to complete the Dolphins’ comeback from a 24-9 deficit at the start of the quarter to tie the contest (following the subsequent two-point conversion) at 24-24 in a game the Dolphins eventually lost in overtime 27-24 . . . Had two catches for 41 yards, including a 27-yard reception, the longest catch of his career at the time vs. Pittsburgh (1/3/10).

2008 - Started all 16 regular season games . . . Recorded 34 catches for 454 yards and a team-high seven touchdown receptions . . . Led the team in receptions once and in receiving yardage twice . . . Made his Dolphins debut in a starting role and led the team in both receptions and receiving yardage with eight catches for 84 yards and a touchdown vs. N.Y. Jets (9/7) . . . His first Dolphins touchdown came on a five-yard pass from Chad Pennington . . . His performance against the Jets represented single-game career highs in receptions and receiving yards at the time . . . Fasano’s eight receptions tied for the third-highest single-game figure by a Dolphins tight end, behind only Jim Jensen’s 12 catches at New England on Nov. 6, 1988 and Randy McMichael’s nine catches vs. Cleveland on Dec. 26, 2004 . . . In that contest against the Jets, Fasano combined with fellow tight end David Martin, who recorded four catches for 53 yards and one TD, for a total of 12 catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns . . . The 12 receptions were the second-most ever by a Dolphins tight end tandem, behind only the 14 combined of Jensen (12) and Ferrell Edmunds (2) at New England on Nov. 6, 1988 . . . With Fasano and Martin each catching a touchdown pass, it was the first time two Dolphins tight ends caught at least one TD pass apiece in the same game since October 29, 2005 at Buffalo when McMichael and Will Heller each had a TD catch . . . Recorded three catches for team-high 66 yards and one touchdown at New England (9/21), with the touchdown coming on a 19-yard option pass from Ronnie Brown . . . His TD reception from Brown was the first completion by a non-quarterback for the Dolphins since Marty Booker tossed a 48-yard completion to Chris Chambers vs. St. Louis on Oct. 24, 2004 . . . It was the first touchdown pass by a non-quarterback for the Dolphins since Terry Kirby tossed a 31-yard TD pass to Irving Fryar at New England on Sept. 19, 1995 . . . Had three catches for 47 yards vs. San Diego (10/5) . . . Hauled in two catches for 17 yards and one touchdown vs. Buffalo (10/26), his touchdown came on a two-yard TD pass from Chad Pennington . . . Continued to be a reliable receiver as he had three catches for 36 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown pass, vs. Buffalo in Toronto (12/7) . . . Recorded three catches for 47 yards and a career-high two touchdown receptions, coming on two 14-yard TD passes from Chad Pennington, at Kansas City (12/21) . . . It was the first time a Dolphins tight end had two touchdown catches in the same game since Oct. 14, 2007 when David Martin had TD receptions of 14 and four yards . . . Overall, Fasano became the eighth Dolphins tight end to have two TD catches in a game, a feat which has happened 12 times in the regular season and 16 times overall, including playoffs . . . With David Martin also catching a touchdown pass in the Chiefs game, it was the third time two Dolphins tight ends caught at least one TD pass apiece in the same game in 2008 . . . Had three catches for 39 yards and one touchdown at N.Y. Jets (12/28), as the Dolphins captured the AFC East Division title . . . His touchdown reception, coming on a 20-yard pass from Chad Pennington, was Fasano’s seventh of the year, tying Keith Jackson (1994) for the team record for most TD catches by a Dolphins tight end in a season . . . Started and played but did not record a reception vs. Baltimore (1/4/09) during the AFC Wild Card playoff game . . .

AMONG DOLPHINS TIGHT ENDS: With seven touchdown receptions, Fasano is tied for the highest single-season total of touchdown catches by a tight end in Dolphins history, along with Keith Jackson, who had seven TD catches in 1994 . . . In addition, with Fasano’s seven scoring catches, along with three by David Martin and one by Joey Haynos, the 11 total TD receptions the trio accounted for is tied for the highest total of TD receptions by Dolphins tight ends in a single season . . . Fasano (454 yards), Martin (450) and Joey Haynos (22) combined for 926 total receiving yards on the year, accounting for the highest total of receiving yards by Dolphins tight ends in a single season.2007 - Played in all 16 regular season games, including six starts with Dallas . . . Caught 14 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown . . . Blocking was critical as the Cowboys averaged 4.2 yards per rush attempt, including a 4.8-yard mark by Marion Barber (204-975) . . . Of his 14 catches on the year, six were good for a first down . . . Accounted for a season-long 26-yard reception vs. New England (10/14) . . . Tied that season-long vs. Green Bay (11/29), as his 26-yarder that day was good for his first career touchdown as the Cowboys went on for a 37-27 victory over the Packers . . . In finale at Washington (12/30) had three receptions for 15 yards . . . Started Divisional Playoff game vs. N.Y. Giants (1/13/08) and caught one pass for five yards.

2006 - Played in all 16 regular season games with five starts . . . Totaled 14 receptions for 126 yards . . . Blocking proved key as Julius Jones rushed for 1,084 yards . . . Started opener at Jacksonville (9/10), becoming just the third rookie tight end in club history to start in the opener . . . In second career outing, vs. Washington (9/17), tallied his first NFL receptions with three catches for 39 yards . . . Also had three catches (11 yards) at Carolina (10/29) . . . Had a season-long 22-yard reception vs. Indianapolis (11/19) . . . Played in a reserve role in First-Round Playoff game at Seattle (1/6/07) . . . Did not have any receptions.

COLLEGEPlayed three years at Notre Dame (2003-05) during which time he tallied 92 receptions for 1,112 yards and eight touchdowns . . . Ranks second among tight ends on the Notre Dame all-time list for both receptions and receiving yards . . . As a senior, he was one of three finalists for the John Mackey Award as college football’s top tight end . . . That year, he put together career-high figures of 47 catches and 576 yards . . . Had a reception in each of his final 20 collegiate appearances . . . Did not play as a freshman in 2002 . . . Graduated with a degree in marketing.

PERSONALAttended Verona (N.J.) High School where he was a four-year letterman in football as a tight end and linebacker . . . Served as team captain his final two years . . . As a senior, caught 78 passes for 1,460 yards and a county-record 23 touchdowns as he helped the school to the state title among Group 1 schools . . . Threw the game-winning PAT in the 2001 state title game . . . Finished his career with a county-record 42 touchdown receptions . . . Also lettered in basketball and was team captain his final two years . . . Was a two-time all-state selection in track and won the New Jersey Group I state championship in the javelin in his first year competing in the event . . . Played on the school’s baseball team and in his first outing as a freshman pitcher, tossed a one-hitter . . . Started Anthony Fasano Foundation in 2007, which serves underprivileged youth in New Jersey . . . Has participated in the Miami Dolphins Foundation Kids Fishing Clinic and Fishing Tournament . . . Shopped with a family in need selected by the Cooperative Feeding Program and shopped with children in need from local schools as part of the Kids and Fins Publix Shopping Spree . . . Took part in the Miami Dolphins Touchdown For Life Blood Drive . . . Full name is Anthony Joseph Fasano, born April 20, 1984 in Verona, N.J.